


Families Work In Mysterious Ways

by PrismaPup7



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Family Fluff, Fluff, Humor, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, Memories, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24482503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrismaPup7/pseuds/PrismaPup7
Summary: Warriors challenges Wild to a duel - Wild accepts, but the past messes with his head, like it always does.A.k.a. Wild teaches the others about flurry rushes and Lynels, and discovers that he has a family. (And I learn that I'm horrible at summaries.)
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 341





	Families Work In Mysterious Ways

**Author's Note:**

> Quick Warning: One of the characters has an episode that is similar to a panic attack, but it's brief. I'm not sure whether people might be triggered by it, so I'm leaving a warning just in case. (Also note that I have never had a panic attack and therefore don't know what I'm talking about.)
> 
> I wrote this about a month ago, and finally decided to edit it and post it because it's literally one of the few stories I've ever actually finished lol. I apologize if anything seems OOC or the grammar is off - my writing isn't the best.
> 
> If enough people actually enjoy this, I might make a sequel focused around my headcanons on Wild's family - let me know in the comments if you'd like for me to write one! Please leave a comment - they give me life - and stay safe out there! :3
> 
> Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me, and this AU was created by Jojo on Tumblr - all credit goes to Nintendo and Jojo.

"No- DANG IT, WARRIORS!"

Wild quietly laughed from where he was seated underneath an oak tree, watching the others spar. So far, Warriors had been dominating everyone else, taking down Wind, Four, Twilight, and now Legend. Time and Sky were out collecting wood for the campfire while the sun was still out in Four's Hyrule, and Wind was the one who'd suggested that they practice fighting.

Legend threw his sword onto the ground with a pout, brushing the dirt off of his tunic as he glared at Warriors. "Ugh, that's it!" he yelled. "How are you not tired yet?! Are you using a freaking potion or something?!"

Warriors only smiled smugly, sliding his sword back into its sheath and making no move to help Legend up. "It's called determination, years of training, and skills," he replied, sweeping his bangs out of his face in the way he did whenever he felt particularly proud of himself. It reminded Wild of Revali. "Not something that just _anyone_ has."

Wild finished off the apple he was eating, humming in consideration. While he didn't agree with Warriors' pride, the other Hero was right about the training. Wild didn't remember much of his own knightly training - Zelda had informed that he'd started when he was barely four years old - but every so often, muscle memory would kick in during a battle and he would completely forget himself.

Luckily, he'd never had it happen in the two months he'd been traveling with the other Links, since he'd figured out how to keep himself under control. He still found himself slipping every so often, but it was barely noticeable. He wasn't even sure why it bothered him so much - when it did happen, he could fight for hours on end with no stopping, even with serious injuries.

Wild figured it was partly due to it being a connection to the Link from 100 years ago. By now, he'd accepted the fact that he would never regain all his memories, and was a completely different person. The knight part of him had died during the Calamity. 

Maybe he just didn't want to be reminded of all the ways Link was better than Wild.

"Oi, Wild!" Warriors' voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he quickly threw the apple core away to look up at his comrade, who was brandishing his sword. "Wanna go for a round? I know you're more of an archer, but I'd like to get a feel for your close-range combat."

Wild pursed his lips, fidgeting with the bottom of his tunic. He wasn't really a fan of using his close-combat weapons, mainly because he was so reckless and quickly became a danger to everyone around him. He really didn't want to end up slicing off Warriors leg or something.

Warriors seemed to read his expression, because he deflated in disappointment for just a moment before a dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. "Oh, I see. You're too scared of failing against me, just like everyone else here. I completely understand your fear."

Wild stiffened up, before glaring at Warriors and pulling out a Royal Broadsword from his Sheikah Slate. "You're on," he hissed, jumping to his feet. He may not like fighting his friends, but there was no way in heck he was letting Warriors get away with that comment.

Warriors blinked in surprise, before grinning triumphantly and backing up to where they'd established a ring for fighting. "All right! Let's go!"

Wild followed him, flinching inwardly as everyone's eyes were suddenly trained on him. Sure, this was exciting, but couldn't they pay attention to Warriors instead? He was the better fighter, after all.

"Come on, Wild, kick his butt!" Wind hollered from the side-lines. 

Legend smacked the back of his head. "They haven't even started yet, idiot!"

"Shush!" Hyrule hushed the both of them. "If you keep talking, then they'll never start!"

Warriors ignored the whispered argument, dropping into a fighting stance and holding out his sword with a raised eyebrow. "You ready to lose, Wild?" 

Wild tilted his head coyly, a surge of competitiveness flowing through his body as he brandished his own sword. "No. I'm ready to win." He didn't question his sudden bout of confidence.

Warriors looked startled for a second, before grinning. "Nice. You'd better hold onto that pride, because I'm about to destroy it." And then he was unexpectedly moving forward into a thrust, which Wild quickly parried. Thank goodness for fast reflexes.

Wild continued to dodge and parry Warriors' attacks, playing defense as he observed Warriors fighting style. He was fast and skilled, that much was obvious, but Wild noticed that he leaned more on the offensive side, probably due to his protective armor. His movements were also very mechanical, almost too perfect. Years of training had forced Warriors into practically memorizing the exact ways to attack, which meant he wouldn't be used to winging it. He was a strategist, always planning.

Wild grit his teeth against a particularly strong blow, nearly losing his balance. He needed to strike back soon, or else Warriors would eventually tire him out enough to knock him down. Mind racing, Wild ducked under another swing, and suddenly the world around him slowed. He suppressed a grin. 

_Of course!_ Flurry rushes were his secret weapon - why hadn't he thought of doing this earlier?! Acting fast, Wild darted up to Warriors' left side and slammed the flat of his blade into the Hero's chest, hoping that it would be enough to knock him over. Everything sped up once more, and Warriors stumbled back with a wheeze, sword nearly flying out of his hand.

He stared at Wild in shock, breathing heavily. "Wha- what was that?!" he gasped, before his features hardened and he was rushing back in, weapon at the ready.

Wild mentally cursed as he dodged, backflipping away to regain his bearings. Warriors' armor had gotten in the way - had that been a direct strike, the man should've gone tumbling to the ground. He repositioned himself, switching his sword from his right hand to his left. It was time to go on the offensive.

Warriors came in again, but this time, instead of jumping away, Wild slashed upwards in retaliation, their blades clanging together in a shower of sparks. He didn't give Warriors time to reorient himself, his eyes glazing over as a fog entered his mind, taking control of his limbs.

He was Link, training in the castle courtyard. He could not fail - he _would_ not fail. He was chosen for a reason. This was what he was meant to do. 

He parried the next strike from the trainee with ease, coming in with a thrust of his own. This was a rather formidable foe, if he did say so himself, but he could handle it. He'd once fought off a blue Lynel once with only a boko club and three arrows, for Hylia's sake! Fighting an experienced soldier was like a walk on the beach.

He quickly and efficiently took down the soldier, pointing the sword at the man's neck silently, barely registering the expression of fear and awe on his face. Link was pretty much used to it by now. He pulled his sword back at the muffled request of the captain who had been watching, sheathing it and then blinking in confusion. Why was everything so foggy and distorted? He couldn't even tell who the soldier he'd just taken down was.

Rubbing his eyes, Link was relieved as his surroundings began to clear up, fading from the courtyard to a forest, the amazed faces of his friends staring back at him.

...Wait.

_He wasn't Link, he was Wild. Link was dead._

Inhaling sharply in realization, Wild turned to stare down at Warriors, who was gaping at him in concern from the ground, sword laying a good few feet away. "You back with us, Wild?" he asked slowly, cautiously.

Wild forced himself to act calm on the outside, exhaling shakily. It had happened again. His sword slipped from his hand, and he looked down at it listlessly, not bothering to pick it up. _He'd lost himself in front of everyone. Hylia help him._

"Wild?" Twilight tried, stepping toward him. Wild ignored him, squeezing his hands into fists as his breathing picked up. _No, calm down, you're fine. You're fine, you're Wild. You're not him._

_You are Wild, not Link._

"...Wild? Are you okay?"

Wild bit down on his bottom lip to shock himself back into reality, meeting Twilight's concerned gaze. "I... Y-yeah, I'm fine," he finally answered, voice softer than usual as he wrapped his arms around himself.

"Dude, that was AWESOME!" Legend suddenly shouted, breaking the awkward silence. "It was almost like you were teleporting! How'd you even manage that?!"

"Yeah, it was super cool to watch!" Wind cut in, practically vibrating. "Can you teach me how to do it?!"

Wild laughed unsteadily, reaching down to grab his sword and sliding it back into his inventory. "I don't really think it's something that can be taught. If it is, then I don't remember. I've just... always been able to do it."

Now even Twilight looked mildly fascinated. "What's it called?"

Wild could feel himself relaxing as no one mentioned his temporary blackout. "I call it a flurry rush," he explained. "Usually when I'm fighting, if I narrowly dodge something, time seems to slow down around me and I can dart in to deal some pretty heavy damage. It's a really useful skill, especially when I go up against Lynels."

"Lynels?" Hyrule questioned from where he was sitting on a nearby log, eyes glowing with curiosity. "You've got Lynels in your Hyrule, too?"

Legend made a noise of disgust. "Ugh, Lynels? You have no idea how much I hate those things. They're literally just glorified centaurs that can breathe fire."

Wild shrugged, ignoring Twilight's question of, ' _What's a centaur?'_ "In my Hyrule, they're one of the most feared monsters. Few people even dare to get near one, let alone fight one. That's why their materials sell for so much... Oh!" He suddenly moved to grab his Sheikah Slate. "I've got pictures, if anyone wants to see!"

"Yes!" Wind cheered, darting forward, the others not far behind. Wild swiped through his photos for a minute, before giving up and just going to the Hyrule Compendium. Just as he was about to click on the Lynel section, however, some nearby bushes rustled.

Warriors had his sword out in a flash, before he grinned and lowered it as Time and Sky stepped into the clearing. "Hey, welcome back! You guys missed a lot while you were gone!" he informed them.

Time raised an eyebrow and dropped the wood he was carrying, Sky following suit. "Oh?" he asked, eyes locking onto the Sheikah Slate in Wild's hands. "What happened?"

Before anyone else could explain, Wind jumped up and began speaking excitedly. "Well, we were practicing our fighting and Warriors challenged Wild to a duel and then Wild did this super awesome thing called a flurry rush where he goes really fast, and then he was going to show us a picture of a Lynel!"

"Woah, hold up," Time interrupted. "Flurry rush?"

Twilight nodded this time. "Yup. Apparently, it's a skill where if you dodge a weapon, time slows down around you for a few seconds. We all watched Wild execute it, and it was honestly pretty impressive."

"Okay..." Sky started slowly. "But what's a... Lion-el?"

"Lynel," Hyrule corrected. "They also exist in both mine and Legend's Hyrules, and Wild said that they're one of the worst monsters in his world."

Wild was sorely tempted to refuse to show them the picture. None of them were letting him talk for himself, and it was getting old fast. It wasn't his fault his voice was so quiet and hard to hear sometimes! (He mostly blamed the Shrine of Resurrection for it, but then again, he blamed a lot on that Shrine, so it was possible that it really was his own fault.)

Time made a noise of inquiry, stepping closer to the group. "Well, now I'm curious. What exactly do they look like?"

Wild sighed, turning back to the slate. It would be mean to withhold the picture, he knew, and he didn't want to disappoint anyone - especially not Time or Wind. He tapped on the red Lynel picture, blowing it up to full size and holding it out so everyone could take a look. "That's just your typical Lynel," he said. "They come in different colors, like most of the other monsters in my Hyrule. The red ones are the weakest, while gold are the strongest."

Warriors whistled. "Dang, that thing looks nasty. How'd you even get such a close-up picture?" 

Wild shrugged, turning the slate off and slipping it back onto his hip. "Well, the camera can zoom in pretty close. Plus, it was kinda running at me when I took the picture, so... "

Legend choked. "It was _running_ at you?!"

Wild nodded casually, secretly enjoying the incredulous expressions on everyone's faces. "Yeah. It was the first one I'd run into since waking up, so I kind of panicked and snapped the picture before warping away. Later on I decided to keep it instead of replacing it, since it looked so awesome."

Wind looked absolutely awestruck. "...Your Hyrule is so cool," he whispered.

Wild's smile quickly faded at that little comment, and he grimaced, turning away from everyone. "It was," he agreed quietly under his breath, striding back to the tree he'd been sitting under before. He stared at the trunk for a moment, considering, before grabbing the bark and using his upper body strength to haul himself into the branches with surprising speed.

He ignored the exclamations underneath him, instead choosing to climb higher. He needed to take a breather, away from people. Since Time and Twilight didn't approve of his tendency to wander off, climbing to the top of a giant tree was his next best choice. He held no fear of heights, due to his paraglider - in fact, he almost felt at home up in the sky. It was a part of nature, after all.

After another minute or two of climbing, Wild's persistence was paid off as he reached the very end of a large branch, standing up to get above the leaves and absorb the world around him. He inhaled deeply, a tiny smile tugging at his lips. Yes, this was how it was meant to be. He was Wild, free and untamed. He thrived on his own, living off the wilderness without anything holding him back.

He was not Link, the perfect soldier who had been molded to please everyone around him. Link, who had lost his voice in the fear of saying the wrong thing. The war-torn guardian that had failed Hyrule and died 100 years ago. That wasn't him, no matter what Zelda or Purah or anyone else said.

After having reassured himself, Wild ducked down into the foliage and effortlessly swung himself upside down, legs wrapped around the branch to keep himself steady as he poked his head out to see what the others were doing, and found himself almost face to face with a pair of startled blue-gray eyes. 

_"Agh!"_ Wild yelped as he lost his balance, plummeting from the branch and hitting the ground. At least he had enough sense to rotate his body so his back was facing the ground, or else he would've broken his neck. He lay there, dazed, as a blurry Twilight stuttered out apologies above him.

"Holy _Hylia,_ Wild, you almost gave me a heart attack! I'm so sorry, are you okay?!"

Wild smiled up in reassurance, but it quickly transformed into a grimace as he sat up and his head complained against the action. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, Twi. Wasn't expecting to drop in front of someone. You just startled me, is all."

Twilight's worry dimmed, but it was still obviously present as he offered his hand to pull Wild up. "You feeling better? I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were overwhelmed."

Wild made a face as he stretched out his sore back, harnessing the peacefulness he'd found up in the tree. "Nah, I'm good now. I'm sorry that I ran away like that, I just... something happened, and I needed a moment to process it."

They stood in silence for a minute, before Twilight seemed to accept the fact that he wasn't going to elaborate. "Well then," his mentor said, smiling tentatively, "I'm pretty sure that everyone's getting hungry for dinner. What'll you be making tonight, O great Hero of cooking?"

Wild snorted at the stupid nickname that Wind had come up with weeks ago. "First off, I thought I warned everyone not to call me that or else they might wake up one day with no legs. And secondly, I figured I'd make dinner a surprise tonight."

Twilight looked very cautious. "The last time you made a surprise meal, you nearly burned our tongues off with Goron spice."

"Hey, Hyrule and Legend liked it! Don't blame me for your low spice tolerance!

"No, I blame my parents for that. I blame _you_ for having such a _high_ spice tolerance!"

"Well, _excuse_ me for having more dignified taste buds than the rest of you." 

"Hey!" Twilight protested, before grinning broadly and ruffling Wild's hair. "Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it out loud!

Wild laughed, darting away and pulling out his Sheikah Slate. "So you admit that my sense of taste is superior, then," he joked, not allowing to Twilight to talk back. "Good to know. I'll hold that over you if you ever complain about my food again."

Twilight was rendered speechless. In the background, Legend hollered, _"Yeah Wild, get 'im!"_ Apparently, he'd been eavesdropping, something that didn't surprise Wild in the slightest.

Wild snickered, turning to the campfire that Hyrule had set up and selecting a few ingredients. Contrary to what Twilight thought, he actually had no idea what he was going to make. He settled on a simple meat and rice plate, since it was a favorite for everyone and he had more than enough meat in his inventory. (He had more than enough of everything in his inventory, honestly; the Sheikah Slate had way too much space. It really didn't help his hoarding tendencies.)

After pouring the rice and water into a large pot and leaving it to boil over the fire, Wild turned his attention to where the others had resumed their combat practice. He suspected that Twilight had told them not to approach until Wild was ready - a fact that he much appreciated. He was still a little off-balance from losing himself in the past, and probing questions from the others would've only made it worse.

He smiled into his hand as Sky knocked Wind to the ground, the sailor cursing up a storm in his fury and Time stepping in to scold the young one for his language, despite knowing that it would make no difference. Sky, on his part, looked extremely apologetic, but Wind was having none of it. It didn't help that both Legend and Warriors were cheering Wind on with just as much swearing - mostly Legend's fault.

Wild shook his head in silent amusement as he took out four pieces of raw prime meat, refocusing on his cooking. Despite all their differences, they'd still managed to grow close enough to be considered family - a concept that was entirely foreign to Wild. Zelda only knew so much about his childhood from before, and apparently he'd had some form of family, but they'd all passed away before he'd first been appointed as the Princess' personal knight when he was barely fifteen. Parents, and a younger sibling - a sister, maybe.

He still had random flashes here and there - warm, strong arms, sparkling green eyes and the sweet smell of baked apples, a young girl's bubbly laughter... There were also darker ones, ones that made him suspect that perhaps he didn't want to regain those particular memories. It was obvious that something terrible had happened to his family, and while Wild was curious, he knew deep down that it would only hurt more if he remembered.

He was perfectly content with staying as Wild, a member of this crazy, wacky family of Heroes.

They were all the family he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> ...I've written family so many times it doesn't even look like a real word anymore.


End file.
